Fulling or planking machine



July 27, 1943. v. BOHM 2,325,301

FULLING OR PLANKING MACHINE Filed Sept. 20. 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Vic/0r Bun/n BY July 27, 1943. v, BOHM FULLING on PLANKING MACHINE Filed Sept. 20, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Vic/0r 30/7"? BY TORNEY Patented July 27,

.r G PLAN INGRM CH N V t BQh au ments. Y. i U Application September 20, 1941;"SerialNoL' 411 ,6931

7 Claimsfwl. 26 9' This inventionrelates to f ulling or planking machine's for'felts, including both hair felts and; wool felts, and mor particularly for hat bodies, and hats, especially to-fulling or planking machines of-the kind chines."

known-also as multirolle r ma- The known fulling machines, which are eimploy'ed -for the fulling or-millinggof .feltsQhat machines-j cannot be increased. ;'If it bedesiredto" accelerate the i ulling process, a plurality 'of machines must be arranged in parallel or in series and thework tobe fulled must be passed through f bodies and the like, consist essentially ofat least two" superposed-groups of rollers, between which is passed the felt, felt body, hat body or the 1m to be-fulled. In such machines eachindividu'al roller'executes' a continuous rotary movement about its=longitudinal axis and at least'one of the two rollers-ofeachcooperating pair of rollers executes an Oscillating or reciprocating movement in a generally axial direction in s uch a way that p oneroller executes a movement relatively to the other roller wherein by the continuousrotation of the individualrollers about their axes the felt,

operating pairs of rollers and passed through atleast one of the rollers of each pair, the'actual fulling' or, planking of the :feltbody is effected.

In the' known-machine's the axialmotionfof 2o hat body or the like is drawn in between the co-.

I ft-3 that are exposed to such motion in ese k ow m c s. t in'um r ll is "alsolir'nltediand the output capacity of these these machines in succession.

Thefp t invention s dqumtt zd ep cover'y that-the cooperation of one roller (the main rollerl'with anum-ber of rollers (secondary rollers) offers 'a means or increasing the hum- I ber of points of contact and therefore the number of pointsof treatment,'thus multiplyingthejactiori of a roller and increasingthe output capacityoi- I a machine, The invention is' based upon-the discover'y {that the number of: points of I contact and j points of treatment in affulling machine-can bej" increased -byallowing a roller to-cooperate with rollers so arranged that "the points "of contactof therollers cooperating with; one another are; d angularly spac'edfrom one anotherby less than 180 degrees; such'an arrangement enables the numberyof treatment pointsto'be increased at i the rollersis'obtained forthe mostpart by supporting "the rollers in carriages, and imparting a shaking-or oscillating motion to the carriages,

Machines are known in which axial motion is imparted toth'e' upperand lower rolIersf-and forf this purpose the upper -rollers' are jourh'aled in an upper carriage and the lower rollers in a'lowe'r f carriage,' and to each "or thesetwocarriages a reciprocating or an oscillating'movement is im-l parteda Machines are, however, also known in which only. one group of rollers; for instance the 7 upper rollers, are mounted in acarriagalto V a reciprocating op os'cillating' movement isim parted, while theiother gfroup ofrollers is not] reciprocated or oscillated, so that 'each rc llerf this ;group'- executes only rotation about its own i The output sat ety of'the known -ma chines-is limited, mainlyby the'weightoi the rollers sub-* jected to the, reciprocatory oroscillatory'motion;

that is to say, in the known'machinesthe weight v .1 ofall of the rollers of a, groupis-taken byjasingle marriage with the result that the-frequency pr will, particularly when the device is such that the cooperating rollers are not ofl thefsa rne siz'e, -but thata roller of greater diameter the main roller) cooperates-with a plurality of rollers of smallerdiameter (secondary rollers) ,]the points of "con-r tactcf whichwith the main roller are sin u arly 1 spaced-from oneanother'at an acute angle; I T j Thefulling inachine'fdrming the subjt of this invention is readily capableof being constructed sideh Thls'also renders-possible afformofjcon- 'struction ofqfulling machinel'n which the main roller cooperates with group's'of rollers in different parts "of its length, in such a 'way'that the main roller, in difierent portions'of itslengthQCo; operates with" differentlyarr'anged groups of rollers. This offers a means for reducing "the bending stress 'onthe ilong'roller. For instance the main roller may, for example, also' he arranged to ficooperate'throughout a" portion or its length with lower rollers and throughout another-portion of itsl'n'gth with upper rollers, thereby rendering the oscillation is limited'notwithstanding' the'iact that the amplitude of the reciprocating or o scil- I lating movement, as the case maybe, is very,

. a mo1irit a in ost cases to *omyi a few millimetres; I consequence ofthe magnitude it possible for the felt treated to make a circuit through the machine andf'even, if "desired, for

" the points of entry and exit tob'e' provided side by sideEin'thesame plane,'that is to say, the felt; treated .capi-be guided-"in thea hine back into: j

thegjpl n finiwhich had been introduced into the machine.

., nfi e seoi a'fullin'g machine accordingto theinvention,

, oscillation, it vis -possible {to Lmanuiactu re Qmalll in which a roller executing an axial oscillating movement and a rotary movement cooperates with a plurality of rollers executing at least a I rotary movement, preferably with the same peripheral velocity, the operative length on this 5 roller and therefore also its action are, therefore, multiplied to an extent corresponding to the numberof cooperating rollers; I a A'machine consisting of a plurality of units, at least two, 'each 'co'n'sisting'nof a'main roller and associated-secondary rollers wherein in each unit v the points of contact or treatment, in relation to in a. suitable radially displaced relationship and the rollers of one unit revolve in the opposite 1.5

direction to those of the other unitwenablS boriimentillustrated in the drawings, the felt (hat bodyer ,thelikel passing between the main work to be treated on difierent sides. of Tthesurface, that is, on the upper sideand on the=under- Such a machine, consisting of a plurality-of main. rollera-gmayr be .constructed either. with main rollers arranges par ueiirp ionelanotti e or else' ms na. waygthat "the'axes' of {the'gm rollersgare i r' i alignmentLMithQ onellanoth v According to ,thelinventionin 'a', mar-11m c to the diminution, hereby' ren'deredrpossible;in};

the. swinging m asses, -as .-'con'1 pa'r'ed with Lamina; machiriz a. which @the .swinging nassea are supe portedfior example in la carriage, executing. the

chineslwithan. almost indefinitelyhigh,frequen y; of vibration, A The Eindiiridual drive.providedeachJnainl mi 'eero p ep od et o of thawingem m en emic q bleqh wev tevenrin o t a esnr a e th le en cache 1 ing,rolleriquite considerablyand itis thereby also. made} possible to :provide the. co

tact pointsortreatment points at difierentparts of the roller ;len g th o r in different-portions oft; e se-memes m krvm u ew mmeta iw i erm ifi re tf tw its-len t ereb s i h fl fle enflvwa mns d x n a-th e ned breth le zthre rt e ro le -fa era mbo m s 1 t ein e nrer c e: agrasnmatieally illustrated in the accempanyin nsein wh hw-wwl .56 Figure l is a diagrammatiotrepresentation of I one onstructionrg A, e fig 2 B -a. e d r v r n tion- I saim A" constructions.;.

- ti e arran ement; third; i I

Fi rifid waz ction ofh s m mili .,,;,-70 .F 73 a d 5 a e es eti elv views-it; Fr nts: on-en ect on a ne e n x theg linekibffl'rgf; of afourth.constructi0n,,,, m,

In the exampieef construction illustrated; ih j;

i r 1 sesam -wipes: th a i bmefiii 1 si lin the points of contact of the preceding unit, are--*-- ting axial-,movement to the. rollers; eas hf roller.-,.-;;- being arranged .individuallyto be so .movedrf-Each rolleror roliers of one portion, the-lengthl'being 4 1 associated with vtheanain roller; 2 ,may zbe \a-nguaudisplaced relatively l cas'ea-of the dby endless bands consists of main rollers I, 2 and 3 which in any convenient number are arranged side by side, or side by side with a suitable gap between them. Each of these main rollers I, 2, 3 cooperates with a group of rollers (secondary rollers) consisting of anumber of rollers 4, 5, 6, lot smaller diameter. The arrangement is such that the main rollers "I, 2, 3 execute on the one hand a rota- I tion about their own axes and on the other hand an/a'xial reciprocating or, oscillating" movement, for instance as is known in 'multi-roller ma- The rollers 4, 5, 6, 1 of each group, which cooperate with the main rollers, rotate abougtheir-gownaxes with the same peripheral velocity as the main rollers so that, in the em- The .mainro llersJ 2 ,-,3 1areso ISLIPPOYtQdxQS to in be capable o f oscillation or reciprocation al, r nu w wmot o -waits secu dcfsr example; in a known unanner .by means of- 'eccenrn trics the rotation of which is effective 'in impart of, the, main rollers also hasgits own rotationaL drive, -sothat ,by .-the av 'dancepf a;,;c ornm on'a driving; arrangement; fpp the, .rnain-urollers the 2 zconstruction I is substantially simplified,- -andr,each- T roller, maybe driven in a) different direction,

The driving of thegs'ecendary rollers-s4; 5, 6, 1,-is' eifect'ed. in gthe embodimentdllustratedbyqneans m of,' a;chairi gear iorinstance-bymeans ciachainm' -;:8, whichymesheswithsprockets 9=-on theshafts-of the'lseveral,secondary-rollers;

Iii-I5 mb im n i us ra din. ist ie z the k; mainrollers I and, Zarea-drivencinlopposite di larly displaced relatio thegZgrDupnA of it rollersr d i, 6 l associatedz with" the, ainwroller nsta qe he oll rrsro p azmav. bewa eranged,lpel ov v% th associated rnaimirolleriil; andi z the-{roller group B above; th e .:asso ciated imainrrr. roller 2; s that; the w0rke,(hat-,bodyor ithe [likenv I is f ulled on oneside in :passingeoven-Athei malnu roller. and onsthe other side.-;in. passingreoyer'e r themaln t at F 5 t s vers is su i cte l1 g .treatmeniarong'diifenent 'sidesziin passing t twdmain grollersr. 1-. It is therefore possible on; suchra machine," to treat the wqrlc on both sidesweven whenipas'sin'gw it onlyg bncethroughithemachinem,

If-Q theiullingwmachine; consists of more twogmain rollers -al; 2 in 'bh?'thilfd main rbller i the:- arrangement :of the i rolli'lagroup ficoh'sistili of "the roll'ers:itof smaller'ydi'arneten'is" angularly to the arrangementin the receding mamaro er -zgand sbem}- ansport of niaterial f bfir-thehe to t e 4 '1 "ay ifrequired'b'et:

If." I In or rtofrend'er'thetmachinetaccording,to

an; easement treati g, feltsi a difier.-,

the displacement of 'the'individual'rollersisper mitted'without interfering with the drive. I

'In the embodiment illustratedn Figure 3,the

bearings of the secondary-rollers, forexampla' are for this purpose supported in'slot guides-13,

and are subjected to spring 'or like actionythe'" slot guides I3 running parallel to theplane passing through the: axes of the cooperating rollers,

as -shown 'in Figure 3; The springs I' l that resiliently control'the secondary rollers'are preferably capable of being-stressed or readjusted, for instance by means of a cable l5, which passes over'pulley's l6, which are arranged on a movable abutment for each spring, so' that by pulling the springsi-t is therefore possible to vary'the pres sure under which the felt passes through the machine. This provides on the one hand a means for influencing the treatment of the felt, and on the other hand a means-forallowing for the variation 'in the thickness of" the felt due to shrinkage of the felt. It istherefore-possible to pass the felt more thanonce between'the rollers or throughthe machine with" difierent spring stresses. i I

If .in a machine according to the invention each main roller hasits own oscillating or axial drive, it is possible to increase quite considerably the possible frequency of oscillation, since only the mass of one roller has to beset-in motion and thus an increase in workdone as comparedwith machines in which the oscillating rollers are journaled in a common carriage.

By the' separation orthe drive for the 'main rollers and by the'individual driving of'ea'ch main roller, the driving: elements, such as eccentrics for example, of course become smaller, whereby also a diminution in the width-of the machine is attainable, if importance is attached to the building of narrow machines.

By changing the speed of revolution of the cooperating rollers the passage of the work through the machine can be accelerated orretarded in amanner known in itself, according to the treatment that may be desired. By increasing the speed of revolution of the cooperating rollers in the successive units the treatment can be weakened or reduced, and by diminishingthe speed it can be strengthened or increased.

The machine accordingto the invention may obviously be further developed in various ways. Thus-for example the eccentrics that serve for the oscillating drive of the rollers may be adjustably mounted, and the amplitude of the oscillation may thereby be variable, the frequency of oscillation being also variable. I

It is obviously also possible to combine two or more main rollers by common driving mem-- bers.

It is, however, also possible to support the secondary rollers upon compressed air cylinders or the like devices providing a resilient support,

and toeffect similar modifications.

The individual driving of the rollers, however,- also renders possible quite a considerable increase in the output of the machine; for owing tothe v fact that the rollers are only individually set in oscillation it becomes possible to employ heavier and therefore also longer rollers than in the usual machines, in which the rollers executing the oscillation movement are journaled in a common carriage. The employment of longer rollers makesit possible to pass more work-pieces (for instance hat bodies) than was hitherto possible so "that the work'c'anbe passedin a circuit, as it were, through the machine, and'can traverse the machine in different directions, whereby two or even more machines 'can -be' replaced,'- according ample of construction 'sho'wninthese figures the 'mainrollerw cooperates for a part'of its length with a'rollergroup-C, and for a'partof its length 'with'a roller g-roup'D; these two groups of rollers being arranged in such angular relationship to one another that the work can'runin at one place' and can back atfanother place (Fig- In a machine of this kind the' 'main roller W l forms in asense part of "twomachine's and such a machinecan completely take the place of two multi-roller machines-of ordinary construction.

For supporting the roller groups' 'C and D there may be'provided,Ibetweenthe side franc-es H and l8'inwhi'ch the main roller Wis journaled,

a furtherfra'me 'I-S'(Figure 6 therollers of the groups C and-D being supported by one journal I v in the framell or l8 'of'the main roller andby the Bother journal in the further frame I9; which are provided'between the rnain side frames and which-may'even be const'ructed soasto be cornmon to both groups-of rollers-as shownin the drawings. Theroll'ers; 0f the *groups C and 'D' may be yieldinglyjournaled"in slotted guides as shown in 'Figure 'ti;

Inthe emb odim ent illustrated in Figures 7 and V 8 the fullingmachine consists of twoinain ro1l em 1 and 2', each of which cooperates with two groups of rollers A, A and B, B respectively, of f which one group, A or B, is angularlydisplaced in relation to the othergroup A or B, throughan angle of degrees. The work, a hat body for instance, enters the machine at E and leaves it at F, reenters it at E, and leaves it at F.

In this form of construction, two paths in opposite directions through the machine are offered .to the work, and in each passage the work is treated on both surfaces. I v

In order to prevent the work running freely between the rollers when passing through, the

secondary rollers may be caused to abut against one another.

In order to make the main rollers as light as possible it is preferable to make them tubular.

It is advantageous to employ as a main roller 9. tube provided with a coating of. india-rubber, artificial resin or the like. The coating may best be made of thin rings of india-rubber or artificial resin, "Bakelite for example, in suchv a manner that the discs are slipped on to the tube and united to form a. unit, preferably by pressing them against one another without leaving any gaps between them. Such rollers with tubular cores are also very resistant to acids-and are light in weight. It is, however, also possible to use as a roller a steel tube, of rustless steel to' obtain the resistance to acids for example, without a coating. It is, however, advantageous to groove the roller surface or to roughen it in some other way. By employing tubes as rollers, preferably rollers with hollow cores, it'is possible to us main rollers of comparatively large diameter. -Thus it is possible to use, as main rollers,

rollers of considerably greater diameter than has thrcughthe 'machine 'side by'side at thesame i time anfld 'also to' utilize part of the length of the roller for the return 'm'ovement' ofthe work,

hithertosxbeen: uswemmmnmimacmne yror; give amexample rolior's mm: diameter of LfIOHI'I} 150"tog3noimillimemanaymemmployedastimaini rollers, and-rollers Mil dimmterinfafrom 50'73'01' 1-. tolling andr plankingunabhinereomprisingat a plurality Of maimmllerszmdapted =f )r nboth=ro-;-v

tary and vibratory @mnemnnts, 3Q grqmpziof; .sec;

ondary :rollersz'greaterzwthanwbwa'vandnof smaller diameter thantM maimmHers :mountciin Esub- 1;

' stantially tangential rrelationaxto veaehsrof said main rollers "atzacutasanguknedistances: :there around; and: :independentrdrivingrzmeans for the main r where and! Jon 'thmi-rgroupamf rs'eoondaryfl ro11ers'.-1-

2. A inning::and:rplankingamashiner-aceord-ingaw toolaiml, characterisedeinithatthe; machine..:=

has means for conveying the work to be acted-a upcn from une main rollendzo anothern:

3. A ful-ling-rand rplankingjmachinmacoordingto claim. 1, characterizedmathabrthermaohlneshas means for'oonveyingrthe $011010 beactedaupon':

from ene:main=roller--to anothemthezmain: rollers being ..para1'1e11y. .d1sposedn anmeaehnmtatame -i-n a directioneoppositeho that-of .the preoedingrone;

secondary .rollers soudisposedrin xrelatien -to the main. rollers thesucceeding, main rrollersnhaving (the group: of

' surfaces of the main rollers sthatt thmworkpioe:

4=. A iullin'gpand plankingkmaehinefcomprising-; a mainerollerradaptedvior a-both- .-z:0ta1=y and: v1- bratory movements, a ground rseconrlaryprollersfl greater than .two.and nfsmallerudiameter thanthe main roller mounted in substantially tangem,

tial. relation to v-saidrmaimrpllentat mcuterangular distances @thereammdkanduindependent driving as means for'zthe maimmllemandofor ethe group, of secondaryv I.1'O1l818, rztheumaim roller (being. relatively-longin compapisondao thersecondary rollers 1:

g, andx'thef secondary rollersrbeing arranged in sepa ratei groupslin adifierenfn-lon tudina-la-sections of the-tmainrrollenaw v v 5. A \fiUHi HE' QHdMPIQ-BkiM machine according n to claim 4', eharaeterizedin that onegroup of the 1 {secondary :rollersids disposedzbelowg the: axis :and

theothergroup-is, disposewabove :the axis of the; main-rollerzrzx 6; A- fullingr and-rplanking xnachi ne :accordingfl to claimd; characterized vin that each of the mainz 11O1181Sqi5 relativelywlongom comparison to the: a secondary: zrollers andrin :thamtherseoondaryroll-.- ers' are arranged 5n lseparate grqups t-in g-difierentw longitudinabsectionsmf the main rollers and each 7* main- :roller-havingnthe'z groupsirof secondary roll-:z

lo- 1ers .in cooperation; therewith .--angular1y displaced 1 in relation :to-eachv.other'.-

7. A-I-ulling a-nd plankingvmanhine comprising a main roller adapted vfon bothe rotary and Mi bratory-ymovements; 1'91: number-of secondary 1:011:-;

gers greater. than-:tworamd of smaller diameterthan's'l :pendenbdriving meansJfm. .the main"; roller and 

